I’ve taken some flak about a few of my posts where I call BJJ (Brazilian Jiu Jitsu) a “Gentle Art”. It seems to insult some people to think of BJJ as “Gentle” in any way shape or form. Don’t get me wrong, BJJ is deadly and it is all in how you use it. Arm bars can be used to tear a arm from the join or to cause significant pain and threat for a submission. You see BJJ used in UFC fights all the time. It is part of a MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) fighters standard skill set and for good reason.

A punch or kick is only a split second in time and the damage is done. With BJJ and grappling its different. You have time once the technique is in place. Do I choke them to death or just out? Do I dislocate their elbow or do I just bend it enough to hear them yell “UNCLE”. I say BJJ has a gentle side only because you can decide to be gentle. Its like Spock’s famous Vulcan Nerve Pinch. What is to stop Spock from killing you or letting you come out of it once you have been pinched? In my post “How To Use The Rear Naked Choke” I think my point is made in graphic detail. Watch the video and you tell me if the security guard wasn’t using BJJ to be gentle. Then check out this video with Grayson Greener. Grayson doesn’t immediately destroy the guys shoulder. He gives him time to tap out before he does the damage. BJJ is about choice that is my argument related to being gentle.

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on Tuesday, October 6th, 2009 at 12:32 pm and is filed under Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
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